A leaf in an icy world
by Ksathra-Blackfox
Summary: I'm reuploading a more revised version of this story. Also word of warning Story contains SPOILERS to another story on here called Eye of Darkness so if you have read that story this kinda adds more stuff to chapters 24 and 25. Also any Flames will be i


(Author's note: I know this is WAY different that what I usually write but after going through Darth's EOD fic again I decided to do something a little different with it. I decided to expand a bit on parts of Chapters 24 and 25 of his fic by adding Krystal's comments and reactions to some of the events and also put in a few side things of my own. Please read and review and as usual NO FLAMES PLEASE and as usual All characters are copy right by Nintendo except for Daniel Byne and Hannah Pandoria who are copyright by Darthvenom2004)

The only sounds notable were the constant, repetitive clanging from the clock tower, and Fox's hopeless, shattered crying...

Krystal then woke up to see her husband crying and she reached out to touch him but she saw her paw phase through him. She blinked; "What's happened to me?" She stood up and saw Fox holding her body. "You have died." Said a whisper-like voice to her. She heard an evil laughter coming from the creature that just shot her.

You lose this one, McCloud. This is just one of the things that you'll have to learn...Don't live through your emotions, vulpine." For the first time Krystal saw the creature's true form behind that claimed Wolf's body as it's own which told her that it wasn't Wolf that killed her but something else. Krystal growled at hearing this and she tried to pounce Wolf and beat him but all that happened was she phased through him again. "YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD JUST WAIT TILL I FIND A WAY TO GET MY PAWS ON YOU!" she cursed.

Wolf took several futile steps towards her body, stopping in front of it. And then, he cried. Fox had never seen Wolf cry before, but perhaps it was the spark of light inside the lupine's soul finally unveiling itself.

"F-Fox...I-I'm so sorry..." Wolf tearfully whispered to Fox.

"It's not your fault." Fox answered, knowing full well of the creature that had ended his darling's life. Krystal walked over to wolf and she put his paw above his shoulder to make it look like she was touching him. "Wolf I understand now that this isn't your fault." For the first time in forever, the two longtime rivals hugged. She was never coming back...They both knew this. "Listen, Wolf, you have to fight him...Whoever it is that's doing this to us, you have to resist him..."

"I-I'm trying, Fox." Wolf responded. "He's just so powerf-" Wolf stopped in mid-sentence. "No...You monster! Get out! You killed her...You're going to p-"

"Oh, no I'm not." The devilish voice answered, taking control of Wolf's body once again. He turned to Fox, grinning widely through Wolf's eyes. "You're too pathetic." At this, something in Fox just snapped. Gripping the staff with fumbly hands, Fox rushed the evil possessing Wolf, and swung the staff as hard as he could. The blow was so immensely hard, it snapped the ancient weapon in half, as pieces of gold went flying in every direction. Krystal gasped as her staff broke. "My….staff….." she closed her eyes as tears began to flow down her cheek, as she remembered when her parents gave that to her as a gift. In his normal voice, Wolf groaned in pain, falling over and bleeding profusely. Fox looked on in horror at all that had happened. He eyed down the chaos on the rooftop until he could no longer take seeing it. He wasn't sure if he had killed Wolf with that one strike, or just knocked him out. And right now, he didn't seem to care. Turning tail, Fox burst through the door, and ran down the long, winding flight of stairs. He almost tripped several times, but it made no difference. Bursting out into the cold again, Fox looked up at the paramedics and the ambulance, which had just arrived. The medics looked at him in a sense of confusion, but in a way, they looked to understand what had happened. None of this mattered to Fox. He continued running...

And never looked back.

Because, in the end, hearts are just like mirrors, or anything of true value, for that matter;

Made to be broken.

Krystal stood next to her now-lifeless body and cried as the Paramedics covered the body and took it away. "Are you ready to come into the light child?" she heard an echoing voice say to her. "You have others waiting for you who wish to see you." She then stood up. "Can I please just have awhile longer to remain here? I want to see my child one last time before I go." she looked at the white ball of light next to her. "As you wish my child. When you are ready you may come." Krystal went back to what will have been her former home and she saw Fox with Jamie and she looked at them both listening to them.

Fox stepped out into the dark hallway, placing his paw over the knob on the door to Jamie's room. He let himself in, and the door swung inwards with a soft creaking noise. Fox sighed again, and looked around the room. For his intellect, the kid still slept in a crib, which, for some reason, made Fox chuckle. The young vulpine had awakened from the noise, and looked in the direction of Fox.

"Daddy?"

"I'm here." Fox answered, pulling up a soft chair from the room's corner. According to the child's daily schedule, it would be a few more hours of sleep. Then, Mommy would usually come to wake him, and fix breakfast. For him, this was like every other day. He had no idea that Fox had been out all last night, and that a treasured part of his family was no more.

"Daddy, where's Mommy?" The tike questioned innocently, as Fox picked him up and rested him on his shoulder.

Krystal tried to call out to her child. "Mommy is right here." but no one heard her voice. She then tried to walk over and hold her child but the most she could do is act like she was holding him. "Isn't there anyway I could at least contact them to tell them I'm here with them?" she looked up. "I'm sorry my child but there is no way for you to do that." The voice said. She closed her eyes and began to cry again standing up she swung her paw at something on the dresser but her paw just phased through the object. "Damn him…..Damn him for taking me away from the thing I treasure most. I swear I will find some way to make him pay for what he has done to me and my family."

"She's gone."

"Gone?" Jamie asked, perplexed. "Is she on vacation?"

"No. She's not coming back..."

"Why?" Looking at his father's face, Jamie could see a tear roll down Fox's cheek. Fox was unsure if his son had yet grasped the concept of death...But there was only one way to find out.

"She's dead..." Jamie looked at Fox. He couldn't believe it. Dead? His Mommy had died? It was just too much. The youngster felt one tear roll down his face. Then another. And before he knew it, he was crying and wailing for Mommy. getting up from the chair, Fox took Jamie with him into his room.

Krystal heard her child begin to cry for her and she tried to yell out to him reaching out with her paw trying to grasp his. She then brought her paw down knowing it won't do any good but she looked at Fox leaving the room with their son with tearful eyes... "Jamie…..Mommy loves you and will always be watching over you. Fox…..please watch over our son and keep him safe." She then walked out of the house and walked away a bit before turning around to look at her home one more time.

Row after row, the seemingly endless cold gravestones lined the Cornerian cemetery. Two of them had been erected around an ancient oak tree, and the roots had caused the direction of the stones to warp and bend. Behind Fox, there lay four ivy-covered headstones, arranged in a neat little row. Eyeing the stones, he felt a small drop of rain trickle onto the shoulder of his black suit. It wasn't really like him to wear black suits and ties, but he was expected to look formal. Everyone knew that this was obviously hard on him. There stood a crowd of others over a few feet away, but he separated himself from the group and held his son close. Why'd she have to die so young? Fox sighed. He felt as if there was simply nowhere to go anymore. As he contemplated what would happen if he decided not to go on any longer, another vulpine, with a bright crimson fur colour, approached him.

"Hey." Daniel muttered, getting Fox's attention. After attention from pro-war medical officials, they had managed to implant a cybernetic arm in place of where his arm had to be amputated. It was a lot better than having one arm, he could attest-The stuff even looked like real fur.

"Hi. Who're you?" Fox asked, noting that he looked around the same age as Krystal.

"My name's Daniel Byne. I was Krys' friend. I'm really sorry, Fox...This shouldn't have happened."

Krystal stood next to her body's casket watching as others arrived as she knew most of them but the one that caught her eye was another fox who she knew under the name of Daniel who she once met as a kit when she was a kit herself. "Daniel…I hope that whatever life has in store for you that it makes you happy."

"No...No, it shouldn't have." Taking another sweep of the cemetery with his eyes, Daniel turned tail and walked away toward the crowd. As Fox watched the young vulpine walk away, he felt another paw rest gently and reassuringly on his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder, he looked into the concerned, yet sad, face of General Pandoria. The spot on her stomach where she got stabbed was heavily bandaged up over her black dress, and her golden-brown hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail.

"Wow, Fox. I'm sorry about all this."

"Don't be." Fox muttered back. "It's not your fault...Leave me alone!" He shouted, his voice rising in intensity. This woke up Jamie, who was resting in his father's arms. Sighing, Fox turned back. "Sorry, Hannah. It's just that..."

"This is really hard on you." She finished his thought for him.

"Yeah." Fox grumbled. Several feet away, there lay the casket. It was closed, but his darling was inside. Why wasn't it meant to be? His life would have all been perfect. But then this had to happen. The burial service was scheduled to start in a few minutes. Krystal's final resting place had been dug beside the grave of Vixy McCloud, which stood directly beside a memorial to James McCloud. Fox thought of it as a small family plot. It was something that just brought up memories of his long-departed parents, stinging his insides. Several rows of chairs had been brought in, neatly organized in front of the casket. On a wooden platform separating the casket and chairs, a reddish-brown podium stood. On it, there were three photos of Krystal: One taken years ago, when the young blue vixen was standing with her parents. Another that Falco had taken at Fox and Krystal's wedding, right at the embrace. And finally, Fox and Krystal standing together, with Jamie asleep in Krystal's arms. That one was taken three months after their son had been born.

Krystal walked over to the photos and looked at them and remembered them well. She reached out and acted like she was touching them. She looked at the photo of her and her parents. "Mom and Dad I know you are waiting for me right now but I will be there with you soon okay. Sandra I am sorry about what happened that day and please forgive me." She then looked at the photo of her and Fox on their wedding day. "Fox, this day was special to me as on that day you helped give me a new purpose in life. I just wish I could still be with you right now." As she then looked at the final picture tears once again began to stream down her eyes. "Jamie……You will be the one I will miss the most as the day you were born was the happiest day of my life."

Fox looked for someone else that he recognized in the crowd, but couldn't find his closest friends. Because Krystal was an orphan with no peers until she met Fox(After which she made many close Cornerian friends), most of the crowd had gotten to know her through her husband. Fox took a seat in the front row, noticing that the rain was beginning to grow more intense. The rest of the mourners also took seats. As an elderly vulpine walked up to the podium, Fox rested his head in his hand, staring down at the grassy ground. He drowned out the Minister's preachings of life-after-death, but still, no thoughts invaded his mind. he was drawing a complete blank. Maybe he still hadn't completely accepted the truth about his wife. After a contemplating everything that had happened last night for another time, Fox was unsure of how much time had passed. Seconds? Minutes? But he heard the minister ask if anyone would like to say a few words. Before he knew it, he was getting up from the foldout chair, and walking toward the podium.

"And now, it looks as if Krystal's husband Fox would like to offer his words." Fox didn't really understand the minister's words, but he took his place at the podium anyway. Picking up the photo taken at their wedding, Fox felt a tear well up in his eye.

"Falco took this photo, and started passing it around to all of his friends as a joke...I wasn't ashamed." Fox admitted, setting the photo back down. "Krys and I..." Fox wiped off the tear, which had fallen halfway down his face. "We shared a special bond. And whenever we were together, it was as if everything was perfect for both of us..." He looked down and to the side, not bothering to hide his army of tears. He turned to the casket, placing his hand on it. "It's gonna be tough without you..." Sighing, he walked back down the podium steps and took his seat again.

Krystal tried to hug her husband from behind as he began his speech and she listened to him and when he got to the part where he said they had a special bond she smiled. "Yes Fox that is true and I hope that bond remains even with my passing as I will never forget you my darling for what you have done for me. From the moment you risked your life to save mine back at Dinosaur Planet I have always loved you and the bond we shared." She watched as he walked back to his seat with tears still in his eyes.

The rest of the service was a bit of a blur. Before he knew what was happening, the Minister had stepped down, and the casket was being lowered into the grave. While others were getting up from their seats and preparing to go home, Fox remained seated.

"Hi, Fox." The voice startled him for a second, but when he turned around, Bill was standing there. He took a seat beside Fox, putting an arm around his friend's shoulder. "She was important to all of us."

"I know." Fox muttered glumly. "I just can't believe I'm never going to see her again."

"You've gone through this loss more times than I have. You know that somewhere, James and Vixy are looking down on you, and if they were here now, they'd tell you to be strong. If Krys were here, she wouldn't want you to cry."

"You're right." Fox agreed. He turned his head toward Bill. "You've always been a great friend...I think I'm going to need you now more than ever." Grunting as he picked up Jamie, Fox stood up and proceeded to walk toward the cemetery exit. But before he reached it, he turned back to Bill. "Why do these things happen to me?"

"Fox, there's nothing anyone could have done."

"No, I mean, why does everyone I care the most about have to die? First there was Mom. She was fatally injured in that car-bomb. Dad rushed her to the hospital, but she died on the way...And then a year later, Dad died. I remember the last time he tucked me in at night...Then I never saw him again."You're getting preachy. Bill thought, but withheld from saying it, for courtesy sakes. He just watched Fox walk away.

Krystal heard the voice once again except this time it showed her a image of her parents waiting for her on the other side she looked at them. "Krystal, are you ready?" said her father to her. Krystal just looked down and then looked at them. "Father as much as I would like to join you and mother can you answer me something before I come?" Her father smiled. "Of course. What is it?" Krystal blinked slowly as she asked "Is there any way that I can come and see Fox and Jamie still?" Her father and mother nodded. "Of course you can as me and your mother visited you a few times to try and help you when you needed it the most." Krystal looked at her parents. "That's not what I meant. What I was saying is that is there a way for me to return to the world of the living?" Her mother blinked in surprise as her daughter asked that. "The only ones who are capable of such a thing are the Krazoa Spirits, but they all reside on Dinosaur Planet. Also the one you love will require your help soon against the coming darkness." Krystal looked at her mom questioningly "What do you mean by "Coming Darkness" mother?" Krystal's mom just looked at her. "You will know in time my child but come now. Step into the light." Krystal paused for a bit. "Can I at least say goodbye to Fox one more time?" Both her parents nodded. "Yes my child you may."

Krystal walked around Corneria City which was still showing signs of damage from the recent conflict. "Things are only going to get worse now it seems." As she kept walking she stopped in front of a club that looked very familiar to her. "I remember this place well." she smiled. "Fox brought me here to earn some extra money to have me sing here." She stepped into the club and saw it was abandoned except for a fur having a drink and the bartender cleaning a glass. The fur at the table was a male orange-furred vulpine that to her looked a lot like Fox. The bartender was a male grayfurred timber wolf and he showed some signs that he was in the fight as he wore an eye patch over his right eye and one of his arms looked like it had been replaced with a synthetic one but you couldn't tell from far away. She sat down next to the male fox and she notices it is Fox and she frowns seeing him drinking. "Fox…..If I could do anything right now that bottle would be against the wall as even though I know you don't drink I wish you wouldn't start now."

Fox groaned as he looked up from the drink, looking like he hadn't slept well for awhile. He looked at the bottle for a bit and for some reason something told him to put the bottle away. He looked at the bartender. "Would you mind if you put that away before I put it away ?" The bartender took the bottle and nodded.

"Sure thing and do you need for me to call a Taxi for you as you don't look so well Fox." Fox just nodded. "Are you sure your alright to make the trip home?" the bartender asked. Fox stood up and shouted,

"OF COURSE I'M NOT ALRIGHT I JUST LOST THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE AND YOU EXPECT ME TO BE ALRIGHT?" Fox blinked realizing what he did and he sat back down. "Sorry for exploding like that it's just that…..she meant everything to me." The wolf put his paw on Fox's shoulder.

"I understand how you feel right now Fox and here's a suggestion. Go home and get some rest okay?" Fox agreed. "Yeah it's getting late and you better call that cab for me." The wolf nodded as he walked to the vidphone. Krystal looked at her mate and she thought to herself. "Fox I wish there was something I could do to help you but this is something you will have to work out on your own for now." She watched as the cab pulled up and Fox stepped into it before leaving herself.

As Fox sat in the cab quietly lots of questions crossed his mind one of which who was controling Wolf at the time of Krystal's death who ever it was he knew he wanted revenge. Fifteen Minutes later the cab pulled up to his house and Fox paid the driver and he stood there as the cab drove off and he stared at the small flower garden at the front of his house that Krystal had started right after they had been married. He knelt down in front of them touching one of the blue colored plants. "Krys wherever you are I hope life is treating you better now and I want you to know I will always love you." He then stood up and unlocked the door to his car and he drove to a local flower shop before another destination he had in mind.

Krystal then walked for awhile more before seeing Falco at what looked like a makeshift grave. "Poor Katt." she thought "Out of all the things I hate most in this universe it's war as it can take away your love about as fast as you fall into it." she stood there for awhile watching him. "Why Katt….Why did you have to die as well…Why couldn't you of lived and that bitch that was the wife of McCloud only die instead?" Krystal stood there in shock as she never saw this side of Falco before. A strange mist started to form around the area as Katt's spirit stepped in behind Falco while still invisible to him she could be seen by Krystal as she tried to wrap her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Falco. I know you can't hear me but I just want to let you know even in death I will always be with you and will always love you." Falco laid the flowers down on the grave. "Don't worry Katt we will be together again soon and this time it will be forever." he walked out of the area and he walked through Krystal's ghostly form and felt a little chill go through his body. He shivered for a bit and then walked back home with a tear coming down his cheek.

Fox turned the keys in his dark blue hovercar, stopping the engine. As he pushed the door open, the familiar scent of flowers entered his nostrils. Of course, it had been with him for the whole time, as a bouquet of roses was resting on his lap for the whole ride. He looked over to the cemetery to his right, which seemed to be looking much more pleasant now that the rain had stopped. He took the bouquet in his hand, and walked past the cemetery gates, setting foot on the grassy plain separated by stones. Looking around for several seconds, Fox located Krystal's gravestone, over by the other two McClouds buried here. He walked over, and placed the bouquet of roses snugly against the front of her marker. "You always liked roses, Krys." Fox said into the empty air, placing a paw on her gravestone. "I'm really gonna miss you. You brought new hope into my life...A hope I never had before." He said, again remembering all the great times he had with his darling. "I guess it's up to me to raise Jamie...If you were still here, you'd want him to grow up to be great. I'm not going to let you down. I already let you down once..." Fox felt yet another tear come to his eye. "This tore us apart forever..." He looked optimistically up to the sky, which was shifting into an orangish-yellow twilight. "...No. I didn't let you down. I made a sacred vow to never let that happen. You're still alive, Krys. As long as my soul still burns strong, we'll be reunited. Someday."

Krystal sighed to herself as she made her way back to her gravesite and she saw Fox standing there by himself. She walked up to him and stood beside him moving her arms up to act like she is hugging him from behind hearing him talk about Jamie. "I'm sure you will do well in raising him without me Fox but I still wish I could be there with you both." She then heard him talk about their love for each other; "Yes my love one day we will be together again and I promise to never leave your side... as our soul bond is still just as strong if not stronger now." She put his paw over his as he touched her grave stone and for a moment she felt like she could feel his paw but he couldn't feel hers on his though. "I just want you to know, Fox, that even in death my love for you will never die and I will always be there for you at your side." she whispered into his ear.

On the top of the grassy cliff, Fox sat alone, bathing in the moonlight glow. It was the same hill where he and Krystal had romantically spent so many loving hours. Things all seemed different now. The rolling, grassy hills surrounding the area, the honking of hovercars down far below-Everything looked different. "Krys, if you're out there somewhere, I want you to know this." Fox declared, gazing into the moonlit night sky. "In the time we were together, my love, you brought me the greatest gift anyone could ever receive; True love. And I just want to say thank you." Fox stood up, gazing straight into the moon. "And don't worry. I'm going to find the one who ended your life, and I'm going to make them pay." He took one step forward, thoughts of his darling flooding his head one last time. "Goodbye, my dearest one." Fox said poetically. "Goodbye, Krys...And Godspeed."

And as Fox voiced his final farewell to the girl he loved, his attention turned to be fixed on one bright, shining star in the night sky...

Krystal once more saw the light appear before her and she nodded, knowing what they wanted and she began to float up towards it and she looked at Fox one last time, stopping for a bit. "My love, I will also say that the greatest gift you have given me is true love and also you gave me a purpose in life as well." She heard him talk about finding the one that killed her and she closed her eyes. "Please Fox, don't do anything to get yourself killed as I don't want Jamie to suffer through what we went through. I want our kit to grow up to have at least a parental figure around in his life." She then blew him one last kiss and said. "One day my love we will be together again so until then I want you to know I love you." She then turned around and disappeared into the light, and as she did Fox saw the shining star in the sky which was marked now and forever as a symbol as their love for each other.

The end


End file.
